WhatsApp touts privacy and security features in new ad, amid privacy policy backlash

After facing backlash over WhatsApp's updated privacy policy, the company has released a new ad to show off the security and privacy features of the app.

WhatsApp has launched a new ad campaign to tout its security and privacy features on the app. 

WhatsApp has launched a new ad campaign to promote the security and privacy features of the popular messaging service, as it tries to maintain its image as a privacy-friendly and encrypted messaging service. The new ad focuses on the company's end-to-end encryption, to emphasise how no one except the two people in a conversation can read messages sent there.

WhatsApp's new ad comes at a time when the company is facing a lot of pushback from users (and even governments) after the company updated its privacy policy to allow additional user data related to certain conversations to be shared with parent company Facebook. The company later clarified that the content of users' chats will continue to remain private and only some data related to interactions with businesses on WhatsApp would be shared with its parent company Facebook.

The new WhatsApp ad is set in a dimly lit restaurant, featuring a group of people sitting around a small table. Amid muffled, animated conversations taking place, a woman takes out her phone and types a message under the table. A man sitting next to her receives a message on his phone, and the ad ends with a visual of the two of them sending each other messages from under the table, as the message “What brought them together, with end-to-end encryption, only they know” flashes across the screen, with the familiar in-app messaging sound from WhatsApp.

Thanks to end-to-end encryption, they're the only ones in the know. 💚 Message Privately. pic.twitter.com/1rLNh0H4ie

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 14, 2021

On Monday, the company's Twitter account posted a thread explaining how end-to-end encryption works and stating that the messaging service was built with the same technology so only recipients and senders (not even WhatsApp) could read or listen to the conversation. “End-to-end encryption locks your messages. You and your recipients have a unique key that allows you to chat privately,” the company explained.

WhatsApp is built to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption. So only the people you've messaged can read or listen to your conversation. 🤫

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 13, 2021

This means that nobody else, not even WhatsApp, has access to your conversations. End-to-end encryption locks your messages. You and your recipients have a unique key that allows you to chat privately. 🔐

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 13, 2021

End-to-end encryption doesn't just protect your messages; it protects the moments you create and share with others. So you can give your grandfather the password he's forgotten, rekindle memories with an old friend, and share what's truly on your mind with those you trust. 💚

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 13, 2021

Over 100 billion personal messages a day are end-to-end encrypted by default on WhatsApp. So you decide what to say, how to say it, and who to share it with. You're in control.

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) June 13, 2021

The company also highlights some of the uses of the security and privacy of end-to-end encrypted chats – such as sharing passwords with an elderly person, or reliving some memories with a friend. According to a report by Sky News, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart stated that the company was going to communicate to people the “benefits of privacy and encryption” directly. The company is also trying to take end-to-end encryption which was an “abstract term” and help translate it to people, according to the report.